Abhanga 1934
For today: what message will come from māhēra — therefore no sleep in the eyes; I watch the path holding hope in jīva — placing the hand on forehead; counting days on fingers — desperate, no patience; what if the saints have forgotten — or mā-bāpa is not attentive?; Tuka says — there will be crowding — who in their mind brings me there?.
The verse
माहेरिंचा काय येईंल निरोप । म्हणऊनि झोंप नाहीं डोळां ॥१॥ वाट पाहें आस धरूनियां जीवीं । निडळा हे ठेवीं वरी बाहे ॥ध्रु.॥ बोटवरी माप लेखितों दिवस । होतों कासावीस धीर नाहीं ॥२॥ काय नेणों संतां पडेल विसर । कीं नव्हे सादर मायबाप ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे तेथें होईंल दाटणी । कोण माझें आणी मना तेथें ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: What message will come from māhēra — therefore no sleep in the eyes. I watch the path holding hope in the jīva — placing the hand on the forehead. I count days on fingers — am desperate, no patience. What (if) the saints have forgotten — or mā-bāpa is not attentive? Tuka says: there will be crowding — who in (their) mind brings me there?.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| माहेरिंचा काय येईंल निरोप | "what message will come — from māhēra" |
| म्हणऊनि झोंप नाहीं डोळां | "therefore — no sleep in the eyes" |
| वाट पाहें आस धरूनियां जीवीं | "I watch the path — holding hope in the jīva" |
| निडळा हे ठेवीं वरी बाहे | "placing the hand — on the forehead" |
| बोटवरी माप लेखितों दिवस | "I count days on fingers" |
| होतों कासावीस धीर नाहीं | "am desperate — no patience" |
| काय नेणों संतां पडेल विसर | "what (if) — the saints have forgotten" |
| कीं नव्हे सादर मायबाप | "or — mā-bāpa is not attentive" |
| तुका म्हणे तेथें होईंल दाटणी | "Tuka says — there will be crowding" |
| कोण माझें आणी मना तेथें | "who in (their) mind — brings me there" |
What it means
Waiting-for-Vārkarī-return-with-reply abhang. Begins the post-letter narrative-section — the bhakta in Dehu, waiting for the Vārkarīs' return from Pandhari with the Lord's reply.
The opening: māhēriñcā kāya yē'īla niropa — mhaṇa'ūni jhōmpa nāhīm ḍōḷām — what message will come from māhēra — no sleep in the eyes. Sleepless-anxiety: what-news-will-come-from-Pandhari?.
The hand-on-forehead: vāṭa pāhē āsa dharūniyām jīvī — niḍaḷā hē ṭhēvī varī bāhē — I watch the path holding hope in jīva — placing the hand on the forehead. The classical-image of long-distance-watching: hand-on-forehead-shading-the-eyes.
The day-counting: bōṭa-varī māpa lēkhitōm divasa — hōtōm kāsāvīsa dhīra nāhīm — count days on fingers — desperate, no patience. Counting-days-on-fingers (= the bhakta is enumerating-each-day-of-waiting).
The forgetting-question: kāya nēṇōm santām paḍēla visara — kīm navhē sādara māya-bāpa — what (if) the saints have forgotten — or mā-bāpa is not attentive?. Anxiety-of-multiple-failure-modes: did-the-saints-forget-the-message? or-is-the-Lord-not-attentive?.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē tēthē hō'īla dāṭaṇī — kōṇa mājhē āṇi manā tēthē — Tuka says: there will be crowding — who brings me to mind there?. Dāṭaṇī = crowding (= the temple-is-full-of-pilgrims); kōṇa āṇi manā = who brings (me) to mind. Among-the-Pandhari-crowds, who-thinks-of-me?.
This abhang opens a new register: post-letter waiting-and-anxiety-in-Dehu. The bhakta-watches-the-path with-hand-on-forehead, counting-days-on-fingers, anxious-the-Vārkarīs-might-have-forgotten, anxious-the-Lord-might-not-be-attentive.
[T]
For someone today
For today: what message will come from māhēra — therefore no sleep in the eyes; I watch the path holding hope in jīva — placing the hand on forehead; counting days on fingers — desperate, no patience; what if the saints have forgotten — or mā-bāpa is not attentive?; Tuka says — there will be crowding — who in their mind brings me there?.
Where this applies
- Sleepless-waiting-for-message.* Māhēriñcā-niropa-jhōmpa-na-ḍōḷām.
- Hand-on-forehead-watching-path.* Vāṭa-āsa-jīvī-niḍaḷā-bāhē.
- Count-days-on-fingers-desperate.* Bōṭa-māpa-divasa-kāsāvīsa-dhīra-na.
- What-if-saints-forgot-Lord-inattentive.* Santām-visara-māya-bāpa-na-sādara.
- Crowding-who-brings-me-to-mind.* Dāṭaṇī-manā-tēthē.